Discussed in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,764,272, entitled "Apparatus for Recovery of Hydrocarbons from Hydrocarbon/Water Mixtures", issued on Aug. 16, 1988, is apparatus for processing water from various sources where there is a major contamination of the water with hydrocarbons, both dissolved and mixed. This is of primary use where a major portion of the contamination can be removed by permitting the mixture to settle so that the hydrocarbons accumulate on the top of water in a tank. Some dissolved and volatile organics are removed in a spray tower.
Well water is occasionally contaminated with less concentrated organic substances that make the water unusable for any purpose. The typical organic substances that are encountered are the benzenes (carcinogenic), toluenes (toxic) and xylenes (toxic). The Federal upper limit for the benzenes is five parts per billion. The problem may be a temporary one for the well, or it may persist essentially permanently. Usually the solution is to dig a new well; however, the problem can sometimes be solved by completely depleting the water in the well such that the new water seeping into the well will be free of the contamination. This complete pumping process may have to be done several times before the water can then be used for any purpose, and particularly for human consumption. However, whichever solution is chosen, there is a time period when no water is available for use. The only solution to this has been to transport water from a contamination-free source.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a water treatment system that can be at least temporarily utilized to remove volatile contaminants from the water such that it can be used for many purposes except for human consumption.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a portable and unitized water treatment system that can be moved to a site where water is to be treated for the removal of volatile organic materials and the like from well water.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a portable and unitized water treatment system that utilizes a spray tower in conjunction with an activated carbon bed for the removal of volatile organic materials and the like from well water at a given site so as to provide water that can be used for purposes other than for human consumption.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent upon a consideration of the drawings that follow, together with a complete description thereof.